


Why We Fight

by RedRaven



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-08 14:41:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedRaven/pseuds/RedRaven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mess-up in Potions sends Hermione and Draco back in time to meet Lily Evans and the Marauders.  Pre-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Evil?

**Part 1:  
Evil?**

Hermione Granger glowered at her partner. She knew that Severus Snape was cruel...but she'd never considered him evil. No, she hadn't thought he was evil until now. Now, the bushy-haired brunette was convinced of the Potions Master's evilness. She had exceeded everyone's expectations when she'd gotten O's on her O.W.L.s in every class she'd taken (much to Snape's obvious dismay, she'd even gotten an O on her Potions O.W.L.) and had decided to take Advanced Potions for sixth year. She had convinced Ron and Harry (who were hoping to become Aurors) that they needed the class and they had reluctantly agreed. Hermione, Ron, and Harry were the only Gryffindors in Advanced Potions; there were a few Ravenclaws; most of the sixth-year Slytherins; there were no Hufflepuffs in class.

When Snape had found out that Hermione was taking Advanced Potions, Snape had done the most sadistic thing he could think of. Out of pure malice, Professor Snape had made Draco Malfoy Hermione's partner. It was only the first day of sixth year but the thought of being Draco Malfoy's partner made her stomach twist painfully, she had to study with him, sit by him. Sixth year was going to be the very definition of Hell.

Draco scowled at Hermione and then at the Potions Master. _How could he do this to_ me _? A Malfoy? Malfoys_ don't _work with Mudbloods!_ he thought angrily. He crossed his arms over his chest with annoyance as she meticulously added the ingredients to the cauldron simmering. He frowned thoughtfully. What are we supposed to be making again?

Trying to keep his mind on the task, he looked over his notes and added some ingredients distractedly. He frowned as the potion turned pink instead of green. He glanced over Hermione's notes and noticed the checkmarks by each of the steps. He groaned as he realized he'd added twice as much hellebore and wolfbane as the potion required to the mixture. He glanced at the next step and watched as Hermione's hand moved over the potion with a pinch of thistledown mixed with thyme.

"No!" Draco cried as the thistledown and thyme entered the concoction. It was too late, the potion roiled to the horror of the two, bubbles popping all over the pink surface. Draco and Hermione grabbed their bags to protect themselves from the potion as it exploded all over them.

Hermione dropped her bag. "What did you do to _my_ potion?" Hermione demanded.

" _Your_ potion, Granger?" Draco scowled. "As I remember, it's also _my_ potion."

"And _you_ messed it up," Hermione replied. She frowned as she looked around the dungeon classroom, there wasn't a sign of the potion...or Snape...or any of the other students. The room was darker and dingier than usual, and it was completely empty. The ingredients were in their respective places as if they hadn't been moved for a Potions class yet. Draco caught the brunette's curious looks around the room and his silver eyes followed after. "What did you put in that potion?"

"Too much hellebore, too much wolfbane," Draco stated.

"How much more?" Hermione asked.

"Twice as much," Draco frowned.

"And you let me put in the thistledown and thyme?" Hermione demanded.

"I bloody well tried to stop you!" Draco scowled, shoving a strand of pale-blond hair off his brow. He gazed at the table where their cauldron had been and tried to figure out what they had accidentally concocted. Whatever it was, there shouldn't have been such an explosive reaction...and why had everyone disappeared?

The bell rang and Hermione gathered her things. She'd figure this out later; right now she had Advanced Arithmancy. Hermione frowned; she also had Advanced Arithmancy with Draco. _Two classes in a row with Malfoy, what could be worse?_ she wondered.

The two left the dungeon and headed to Professor Vector's classroom. There were students filtering in the halls but none of them were familiar in the slightest. Hermione glanced through the crowds, looking for a glimpse of red or black in the sea of brunettes and blondes. She could tell that Draco was looking for Crabbe, Goyle, and/or Pansy Parkinson. The walked silently to Arithmancy and took their seats across the room from each other. Hermione looked around the classroom, it seemed...different. She couldn't explain _how_ it seemed different but it just was. Out of the corner of her brown eyes, she saw Draco noticing the oddness as well.

Students filtered into the classroom and Hermione almost fell out of her seat when she saw a black-haired boy...he was identical to Harry except he had blue eyes instead of green, and he didn't wear glasses. He was flanked by two other boys, a tall, well-built, dark-haired one with laughing silvery-blue eyes and a smaller, thinner, brown-haired one with serious golden eyes. The Harry-look-alike had a shining "Head Boy" badge on his robes, and the sandy-haired boy had a prefect badge on his robes. The badge-less boy was teasing the Head Boy. "Now, now, Prongs, we don't want you to become the bighead boy, now would we?" he taunted.

Prongs rolled his eyes. "Padfoot, mate, you're just jealous," he stated.

"You're not going to go all fun-spoiling on us like Moony, are you?" Padfoot asked, flicking the prefect's badge. Moony glared at Sirius teasingly.

"Padfoot, Padfoot, Padfoot," Moony sighed, putting an arm on Padfoot's shoulder. "Someone has to spoil your fun or you'll get yourself into trouble with all the hearts you break." Hermione _did_ fall out of her seat (right in front of the trio) when she put the nicknames together: James "Prongs" Potter, Sirius "Padfoot" Black, and Remus "Moony" Lupin.

Sirius smiled teasingly at her. "Need some help there, love?" he asked, offering his hand. Hermione took his hand cautiously, and he helped her up.

James smirked. "Someone has to keep him in line...all the girls falling at his feet," James chided to Remus, and Remus grinned.

Sirius rolled his pale eyes even as they shone with mirth. "Don't mind James and Remus, they're idiots," Sirius said. "Are you new? I haven't seen you around before. I'm--"

"Sirius Black," Hermione said, blushing as the boy shook her hand. _James and Sirius are dead! And now they're my age? How!?_ Hermione thought. He looked a lot different than the Sirius Black she had gotten to know the summer before fifth year. His eyes were full of life and mischief, and his skin was tanned.

"Your reputation precedes you," James teased, shaking Hermione's hand. "James Potter...and this is our mate, Remus Lupin."

Remus shook Hermione's hand. "H--Hermione," Hermione stammered.

"You have a last name, Hermione?" Remus asked.

"Er...no," Hermione squeaked. James grinned, and she could see his son in him.

"Well, Hermione with no last name, it's a pleasure to meet you," Sirius said, winking at her as he and his friends walked to their seats.

Hermione took her seat, and the red-haired girl with a Head Girl badge on her robes sitting beside her rolled her eyes. "I see you've met Remus, James, and Sirius," she said. The redhead didn't catch the longing look James sent her before going back to talking to Remus and Sirius.

"Yeah," Hermione said. "They're...interesting."

"They're jerks," the girl said. "I'm Lily Evans."

"L--Lily?" Hermione stammered, and the girl nodded slowly as if Hermione was crazy. An elderly man entered the classroom and Draco finally took note of how weird things were. Hermione jumped to her feet. "P--Professor, I suddenly don't feel so well? C--can I visit...er...the nurse?" She wasn't sure if Madam Pomfrey was still here.

"Uh...yes...Miss...?" the professor stated.

"Um...de Lioncourt?" Hermione stammered. She would have given anything to have one of Fred and George's Skiving Snackboxes right now.

"Yes, Miss de Lioncourt, you may," the professor said.

"I'll accompany Miss...de Lioncourt," Draco volunteered. "I don't feel so well either."

"Very well," the professor stated, seeming overwhelmed. Sirius raised his hand, and the professor glared at him. "No, you _may_ not go to the nurse, Mr. Black."

Draco and Hermione exited the classroom and as soon as they were clear of the Arithmancy room, Hermione dragged him up the stairs to the empty Astronomy Tower. The Astronomy Tower was hardly ever used except as a rendezvous for couples seeking a quiet getaway. It was well-furnished with soft carpets and a daybed as Professor Sinastra had often fallen asleep during her late-night searches of the sky. It was used as her office every once in a while.

Draco stared at the girl with a cock of his pale brow. "Why, Granger, on the first date?" he taunted.

"Shut up, Malfoy. We need to talk to Professor Dumbledore," Hermione announced.

"I'm not talking to that half-witted old bat, he's off his bloody rocker," Draco scowled.

"Professor Dumbledore _is not_ off his rocker, Malfoy," Hermione said. "He's the only one that can help us out here."

"We don't _need_ any help," Draco replied.

"Did you recognize any of those people in that classroom?" Hermione asked.

"No, but it's Advanced Arithmancy, there's only one class, all of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are in it." Draco shrugged it off.

"You may not have recognized any of those people, but _I_ did," Hermione stated. She reached into her satchel and pulled out a tattered old picture. "All of you that I haven't seen today, please leave the picture." Most of the people left except James, Sirius, Remus, and Lily. She showed the picture to Draco.

"So you have a picture of them," Draco rolled his eyes. "Get to the point, Mudblood."

"That's Lily and James Potter," Hermione said, ignoring Draco's comment and pointing at the happy couple. "They've been dead for fifteen years. You've met Professor Lupin, you know...the only good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've had...the one that your father had sacked." She pointed at Remus sitting near them and then her finger flew to Sirius Black. "And that's Sirius Black; he died earlier this year because of your father's master." Hermione glared menacingly at him.

Draco scowled at Hermione. "Is there a point to this?"

"Damn it, Malfoy, I've seen dead people! And they were very alive and in their teens," Hermione stated.

"Okay, I admit. Dumbledore's not off his rocker, _you_ are," Draco said.

"You can tell that to your father," Hermione said, looking past Draco. She had finally noticed the blonde that looked remarkably like Draco except his hair was longer and pulled into a ponytail. A blonde woman had unbuttoned his shirt and was now kissing his neck.

"I will," Draco said.

"Well, here's your chance," Hermione stated, turning the blonde around. Draco's jaw dropped as he saw the boy that could be his twin. "Now do you believe me?"

Draco turned around and winced, his face beet-red. "Blimey, Granger, the last thing a bloke wants to see is his father...like that," Draco said with a shudder.

"Care to join us, you two?" Lucius Malfoy's voice came.

"Father?" Draco whimpered as Hermione managed to keep her composure but blushed at Lucius's comment, more out of embarrassment for Draco than for herself. She had once stumbled upon her parents like this and had been scarred ever since.

"N--no, thank you, we were, uh, just leaving. Going to find ourselves a nice, quiet dungeon or something..." Hermione stated, her face the color of Weasley hair.

"My, my, Granger, didn't know you were so kinky," Draco said. Hermione hit him upside the head as they exited the Astronomy Tower.


	2. Things That Were...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snape reflects on the events of 1977.

**Part 2:**  
 **Things That Were...**

Snape sat at his desk, glancing around the class, relieved that he had weeded out most of the idiots from the past five years. Merlin, he had finally gotten rid of Neville Longbottom. The thought of ridding the class of the bumbling Gryffindor was almost enough for him to _give_ points to Gryffindors. _Almost_. He could be relatively relaxed (except for the fact that Crabbe and Goyle had managed to stay in the class) to Snape's annoyance.

His dark eyes took in the classroom; Potter looked about ready to kill Gregory Goyle, Weasley glared at Vincent Crabbe, and Granger's hand trembled with suppressed rage as she carefully measured the ingredients for the Animus Potion. A sadistic smile curved Snape's lips...sure the pairs were enjoyable. But they had a purpose as well. Under Dumbledore's orders, the professors had been doing all in their power to create a bond between the Houses. This had led Snape down the path he had chosen in partnering the Slytherins and Gryffindors.

He looked back at the _Daily Prophet_ crossword he had been filling out, thinking of the next day's lesson. Thankfully, he didn't have to keep that close an eye on anyone...excluding Crabbe and Goyle, of course. He paid attention to his class even as he tried to think up a eight-letter word for "horrible mistake," never missing a chance to take House points from the three Gryffindors. So how Draco's mistake got past him was something that Snape never did find out...

There was a loud explosion and Snape looked up, staring at the cauldron as it spewed its contents all over Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. "Granger! What on earth are you doing!?" Professor Snape demanded. He hadn't expected this from his two best students. He had made it that way so they would benefit from each other's intelligence. He had rather hoped the two most-likely candidates for Head Boy and Girl would get over their differences.

He walked over to where they had been sitting and noticed that the two had disappeared with their satchels. Severus Snape groaned softly, rubbing his forehead. He examined the pink substance, and then it came to him. "Class is dismissed!" he yelled.

There was a murmur of curiosity through the class; there was still a while until the bell rang. "I said, get out!" he growled. The students hurriedly gathered their things. "Potter, Weasley, you stay." Harry Potter and Ron Weasley stopped mid-motion as the class scrambled out. "Get the Headmaster." The two dropped their things.

"Er...professor, what do you want us to tell him?" Ron asked.

"Five points from Gryffindor, each! Just do what I say," Snape stated. The two raced out of the room to avoid any more points being taken from their House. He frowned. "How could they have been so stupid?"

He frowned as shadows of things that were and things that had not yet happened taunted him. He swallowed hard as he remembered a bushy-haired brunette and a pale platinum-blonde during his Arithmancy class on the second day of school in his seventh year. He knew exactly where Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy had ended up...

The greasy-haired professor's black eyes turned to his crossword and he immediately knew what the elusive word was: disaster.


	3. Tales and Threats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hermione and Draco try to adjust to the past.

  
**Part 3:**   
**Tales and Threats**   
**(Friday, September 2, 1977)**   


The two walked through the halls of Hogwarts toward Dumbledore’s office, each of them milling over their individual thoughts. They stopped in front of the stone gargoyle that guarded the entrance to Dumbledore’s office. Draco smirked at Hermione. “Do you just happen to know his password?”

Hermione frowned, she hadn’t thought of that…but Harry had told her that Professor Dumbledore did have a penchant for sweets. “Lemon drop?” The gargoyle made no movement. “Pepper imps?” Again, no movement. “Cockroach clusters?” No movement. “Sugar quills?” The gargoyle slid out of the way and a spiral staircase twirled upwards. She smiled smugly at Draco. “I just happen to know his password.”

The brunette climbed onto the spiral staircase, Draco following close behind. Hermione sighed with relief as Dumbledore’s office came into view. It looked much like Harry and Ron had described, the portraits of past Headmasters and Headmistresses snoozed in their frames. Fawkes the phoenix cocked its head and examined the two newcomers and Hermione noted that the phoenix was a beautiful creature with golden, red, and orange feathers. Dumbledore took his seat behind the large desk and examined the two over his half-moon spectacles. He didn’t look that different, just about twenty or so years younger. “Hello, professor,” Hermione said, “I’m Hermione Granger.”

“How may I help you?” the Headmaster asked.

“Well…this is going to sound very odd but it’s the truth, I swear,” Hermione said, explaining what had happened while Draco stood in complete silence.

“Is this the truth, Mister…Malfoy?” Dumbledore inquired.

“Er…yes, Professor,” Draco stammered. “Granger’s telling the truth.”

“This is a very interesting predicament you two have gotten yourselves into,” Dumbledore stated. “I’ve never heard of a memory charm backfiring like that.”

“There has to be, you know, some…way to get back, right Professor?” Hermione whimpered. “I have to study for my N.E.W.T.s. A–and Harry and Ron’ll never pass their classes if I don’t help them.”

“Get a hold of yourself, Granger,” Draco spat. “Potty and the Weasel can fend for themselves.”

“Shut up, ferret-boy!” Hermione snapped. Dumbledore smiled warmly, a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes.

“Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, I do hope you’ll control yourselves,” Dumbledore stated. “I’m not quite certain if there is a way for you to get back to your own time. I’ll have Professor Flaherty working on it.”

“Professor…Flaherty?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, Professor Flaherty, our Potions Master,” Dumbledore replied.

“Oh,” Hermione said. “I hope this is just a really, really bad dream.”

Draco snorted. “You’re not the only one,” he stated. “So, professor, what do you suggest we do until a potion is found?”

“I suggest you take the classes that you were supposed to take this year,” Dumbledore stated.

“Advanced Potions, Advanced Arithmancy, Advanced Charms, Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced History of Magic, Advanced Care of Magical Creatures, Advanced Ancient Runes, Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, Advanced Herbology, Advanced Astronomy,” Hermione rattled off.

Draco frowned. “Bloody hell, you’re in every single class I have,” he muttered.

“Of course I am, I made O.W.L.s in all my classes,” Hermione replied airily.

“Fantastic idea,” Dumbledore said, clapping his hands. “You will go to every class together…that way there is less chance for change.”

“What do you mean ‘less chance for change’?” Malfoy demanded.

“We’re in the past, Malfoy…everything we do changes something. We’re not supposed to be here,” she murmured softly, fingering the photograph in her pocket. Mad-Eye Moody had given it to her last summer on her request after Harry hadn’t wanted it. Whenever she was about to give up, she’d look at the picture of the Order of the Phoenix and find her will and courage. All of those people (excluding Wormtail) had tried to stop Voldemort and many of them had lost. They were her inspiration.

Dumbledore gazed at the girl for a long moment, no sense of mirth or merriment in his blue eyes…simply curiosity. She seemed upset about something out of her control, something that had nothing to do with her ending up back in time. She looked at Draco, her dark eyes unreadable. “We can’t change anything…no matter how bad we want to.”

Draco eyed Hermione curiously. “Right, then,” he stated. “Professor? Where are we supposed to sleep?”

“Excellent question, Mr. Malfoy, I suppose you can share the Head Boy and Girl’s dorms,” Dumbledore answered. “But first, we will have to change your robes around. There would be some suspicion if a Gryffindor and Slytherin came to Hogwarts for their first year as prefects.”

Hermione’s eyes widened as she carefully took off the prefect pin and Draco grimaced as he did the same. With a flick of his wand, Dumbledore turned their robes into the standard issue black that they’d had first year before being Sorted.

“Lily and James were nice…they’re a lot like Harry,” Hermione mused out loud as she tried to take her mind off of the fact that she was no longer a prefect.

“Like Potter?” Draco scowled. “Perfect! I get to spend God knows how long with a Potter duplicate!”

“Actually James is the original, Harry’s the duplicate,” Hermione corrected.

“Whatever, I’m not spending any time with any Potters!” Draco stated, crossing his arms over his chest petulantly.

“Just shut up!” Hermione growled. Draco stared at the girl in surprise. “I’m sick of your holier-than-thou attitude, Malfoy. If you don’t stop it, I’m going to make what happened to you on the train back home for the past two years seem like Heaven!” Hermione growled. “Guess what, Draco.” The blonde seemed shocked that Granger had actually used his first name. “It’s just you and me…no Harry, no Ron, no Crabbe, no Goyle. We both know that I can hex you so well that you can spend the rest of our time here at St. Mungo’s!” A mischievous gleam shone in her golden-brown eyes and Draco felt a shiver of apprehension slide down his spine. “Or, ooh, maybe I can learn how to Transfigure you back into Draco Malfoy the Amazing Bouncing Ferret!”

Blimey, Granger was devious…she’d have made a great Slytherin…well, except for the Mudblood part.


End file.
